Ienaikara
by Rinna Zeki-Xiphos
Summary: On a dark and dismal night she'd never forget, two Galbadian soldiers brought to her the last person she'd ever expect to be able to stand, much less love...
1. Chapter I

Chapter One  
  
It was by a freak chance, complete luck, and total destiny, I believe, that we even met in the first place...and I   
  
look back at all the times he drove me nuts, and wonder what I was thinking...and if I could rewind back to the very   
  
beginning and relive it all, perhaps, for the first time in my life, I wouldn't have changed a thing...  
  
They day they brought him in was rainy and wet, such a dismal display of the monotonous week I'd somehow managed to   
  
survive.  
  
"Um...hey-ya, Raine!"   
  
I glanced up from where I was doing dishes. It was late at night, long past midnight, but after a busy day I had   
  
more dishes then I could almost stand to do. But work is work, and I wouldn't be able to get the sleep I deserved until   
  
this place was sparkling clean and the dishes were all done.  
  
"We're closed," I said as politely as I could, which sounded more exasparated than polite. Despite the fact I keep the   
  
hours posted on the door, no one seems to understand them, and with enough bribery, I can sometimes be talked into cooking   
  
a late night meal for the few Galbadian soldiers that sometimes appear around the tiny town of Winhill.  
  
"Mm-hmm. I know," he replied.  
  
All of the Galbadian soldiers seem to look alike to me. I still have yet to meet one that I can stand to be around   
  
for more than a few moments. I glance at the name-tag this soldier wears, and see the name Joey.  
  
"Captain Joey, or whoever you are, since we are closed I kindly ask that you remove yourself from this building," I say slowly and sternly. Sometimes the newer soldiers just can't catch on that this isn't an all-night facility.  
  
"No, no, we need your help!"  
  
"What is it then?!" I find myself losing patience. Deep breaths, Raine, you can handle this...  
  
"We found this guy washed up on the shore! He's pretty bad hurt! And I think you're the only person in all of this dumpy   
  
little town that even knows how to help her!"  
  
I run the only restaruant in town, and I guess someone had decided that I was next up doctor material. Whatever they say...  
  
"Well, bring him in, then," I sigh, waving my hand.   
  
"M'kay," the guy nods quickly. "Jim and Peter'll be bringin' him in. They were the ones who found him. I figured you'd   
  
say yes, so I told 'em to start bringing him. So they should be here any--"  
  
As if on cue, the door slammed open. A thunderstorm raged on outside, lightning flashing in the sky and thunder   
  
rattling the windows. Jim and Peter, two Galbadian soldiers, drag in another Galbadian soldier with longish brown hair and   
  
blue eyes. My eyes widen, mainly because of the state that this poor man is in.  
  
"Where do y'want them, Miss Raine?" Peter asks politely. I can somewhat stand Peter, until he starts telling annoying   
  
jokes he picked up in the army. Other than that, he's fairly polite and doesn't bother me much.  
  
"Upstairs in the spare room," I order, dropping behind the counter and fishing around for a few potions and a few remedies.   
  
I followed Peter up the stairs. The soldier yelled out in pain as Peter clumsily dropped him on the bed.  
  
"Good luck, Raine," Jim nods. "G'night."  
  
"Later, Raine," Peter waves, and follows Jim out. I hear the door slam, and quickly lock it. I'm afraid of leaving anything to chance...  
  
I return to the Galbadian soldier, who's crying like a small child, whimpering in pain and fear. He's trying to   
  
speak, mumbling syllabals that make no sense, though they sound like the beginning of names I don't recognize.  
  
"Sir?" I gently shake his shoulder, and he shudders in pain. "Sir, I need some information from you."  
  
"Kir-Kiros?"  
  
"No--"  
  
"--War-Ward?" he interuppts, stuttering in a voice filled with pain as he stares up to me with confused, pain-filled eyes.  
  
"No..."  
  
He pauses, and an even more confused look passes through his eyes.  
  
"Julia?" he finally questions questions.  
  
"No," I answer, and the only thing that keeps me from losing my patience is the fact that he's obviously in so much pain.   
  
He slumps down, seeming to lose all interest in anything.  
  
"Who are you?" I ask slowly.  
  
"Loire," he replies softly, unfocused eyes closing slowly. "Laguna Loire."  
  
"What happened to you?"  
  
"Escaped."  
  
That was the only answer I got from him, no matter how many times I asked for more detail.  
  
"How were you hurt?"  
  
"Escaped."  
  
I deducted that it was pointless to keep rephrasing this question, and gave up with a sigh.  
  
"Take this," I say, pulling out a potion and watching the cool, green healing light wash over him. He still looks   
  
miserable, so I toss him another one. More green light.  
  
He still looks sick. A disadvantage of potions--they take quite a while to work, and I wouldn't be surprised if this   
  
man...this Laguna...broke every bone in his body. Only time will heal him, however, and I've done about as much as I can   
  
do for the night. I sit a glass of water and a few acetominiphine beside his bed, and tell him to make sure he gets some   
  
rest.  
  
I stand up to leave, and he reaches out towards me.  
  
"Was-was I the-the o-only one?" he asks, voice thick with emotion.  
  
I pause, bite my lip, and nod slowly.  
  
He's unable to fight off another wave of tears, and instantly falls asleep.  
  
I crash on my own bed, ready for a good night's sleep. It's nearly three in the morning, and I have to get up early   
  
tomorrow. I sigh...what a long day.  
  
Through the paper-thin walls of the house I hear someone cry out. My first thought is that something's bothering   
  
Ellone, my 'adopted' daughter. Really, she's just the daughter of my best friend, but she's my daughter at heart. I've   
  
taken care of her ever since the fateful day that Esthar came looking for her and killed her parents...I run to Elle's   
  
room, but she's still sound asleep. I poke my head in Laguna's room, and he's talking to people in his sleep.  
  
I roll my eyes and smack my head before returning to my own room, and without even bothering to change my outfit, I   
  
flop down and fall asleep.  
  
~//~  
  
A/N: My apologies for the terrible formatting (or lack of ^^) on my first draft of this! Hopefully this one will turn out better! Thanks to all who've read and reviewed, and I hope you all like this!  
  
~Xifa~ 


	2. Chapter II

Chapter Two  
  
Their voices crashed into my slumber like a runaway train, abruptly awaking me from the light sleep I knew I needed.  
  
"AHHH! Who are you?! RAINE!!!! THERE'S A STRANGE MAN IN OUR HOUSE!" and then the sounds of Ellone crying...  
  
I jumped up and ran into the room, picking up Ellone.  
  
"Look, Elle, this man isn't bad...he's just hurt."  
  
"I'm not bad, I'm not!" Laguna spoke up for himself, feebly waving his hands in an attempt to prove to me he wasn't 'bad'.  
  
"But he's," Ellone hiccuped, "he's a soldier!"  
  
"But he's a good soldier, see? He's wearing blue. Blue soldiers are good soldiers. Galbadian Soldiers. He's a good   
  
soldier," I tried to reassure her, and she seemed to believe me, jumping out of my arms and running across the hallway to   
  
her room.  
  
"I'm so sorry," Laguna mumbled, closing his eyes and shaking his head ever-so-slightly. "Never meant to make her scared."  
  
"It's perfectly allright," I reply, mentally thanking the heavens that he didn't inquire as to why Ellone's afraid of   
  
soldiers, and walk downstairs to start on breakfast.  
  
I hear voices again, this time fusing with my conciousness in a more gentle manner, as to none of them are screaming.   
  
Their words, meaningless at first, run around in my head like two children chasing each other before I finally decide to   
  
listen to the conversation that the two are having.  
  
"Then you're a good soldier?"  
  
"Yep. Who are you?"  
  
"I'm Ellone."  
  
I can almost see Ellone's smile. She's probably crossing her arms and smiling proudly. One of the main things I've   
  
always taught Ellone is that, no matter what kind of person you are, that you should always, always be happy to be   
  
yourself.  
  
A piece of advice I wished I would have, and still could have, lived by.   
  
"But then who are you?"  
  
"Me? My name's Laguna."  
  
"La-gu-na," I hear her repeat slowly. "What a funny name!"  
  
"You don't know the half of it," he mutters, and a faint smile crosses my face.  
  
"Breakfast time!" I yell out, placing plates for Ellone and myself on the table, and fixing one up for Laguna, whom I   
  
highly doubt can make it down the stairs.  
  
"Arentcha coming down for breakfast, Mr. Laguna?"  
  
Laguna gives a weak laugh.  
  
"Not sure I can make it down those stairs, Ellone," he says weakly.   
  
I walk up the stairs, holding a tray.  
  
"You won't have to," I say in response to his comment, and he perks up instantly at the sight of food. "Now go eat   
  
breakfast, Elle."  
  
"But I wanna eat up here with Mr. Laguna!"  
  
I look to him to see if he minds, and he smiles and shakes his head.  
  
"Fine, fine," I sigh. Best not to argue with Ellone, espically if you don't have the patience to put up with quite a long   
  
fight. She's a very, very persistant little girl.  
  
"Yay! Thanks, Raine!" she runs downstairs to get her plate.   
  
"I'm sorry if she's annoying you," I say to him, handing him the tray.  
  
He reaches for his fork, holding it awkwardly in his injured hands.  
  
"No, she's not annoyin' me at all! She's such a sweet little girl. I don't mind her a bit," he says, switching hands with   
  
the fork and dropping it. He picks it up, annoyed, and tries to figure out the easiest way to hold it.  
  
I, however, am more interested in his words then his struggle to hold a fork. Most Galbadian Soldiers hate   
  
everything, espically little children. And even if they did have a soft spot for anything, they were way 'too cool' to   
  
show it.  
  
And yet without any embarassment of all, he calls my Ellone sweet and smiles at the same time.  
  
He's still struggling with the fork, swearing slightly under his breath. I can't help but smile. Ellone walks back   
  
in, sits down, picks up her fork and starts eating. After a moment she looks up at Laguna.  
  
"Yoo don't know how to use a fork?" she giggles.  
  
"I do too!" he sticks his tongue out at her, and she giggles harder.  
  
"Yoo do not!"  
  
"Proper english, Ellone."  
  
"I do so!" Laguna looks down at his bandaged hands, scowls at them, and clasps both hands around the fork. "See?! See?!"  
  
"But...you're only supposed to use one hand for a fork, Mr. Laguna!"  
  
He laughs.  
  
"Maybe you're right, Ellone. Maybe I don't know how to use a fork."  
  
  
  
I can't help but smile at their goofy argument, realizing I've probably met one of those 'one-of-a-kind' Galbadian   
  
Soldiers...he completely surprises me by taking an interest in Ellone, and then admits that he "doesn't know how to use a   
  
fork"...? Pecuiliar, that's for sure.   
  
"You hold it like this!" Ellone reaches up and shows him the fork in her hand.  
  
"But I can't do that," Laguna protests, showing him his bandaged hand.   
  
"What did you do to your hand?!" Ellone gasps.  
  
A weak, pain-filled look crosses Laguna's face, but he quickly masks it. I'm surprised how quickly he hides what   
  
he's feeling. Maybe, I think to myself, it's for the sake of Ellone. Maybe whatever pain he's feeling is something he   
  
doesn't want Ellone to know about. But something about the pain he was hiding bothers me none-the-less...  
  
"I was runnin' from someone, and I tripped and fell on it!"  
  
"Did the person get you?!" Ellone's eyes are wide as she listens intently to his story.  
  
And then I notice something--it's like she's just activated something. A totally different look crosses his face,   
  
and instead of leaning back like he had been, he struggles to sit up. Yet there's this bright look in his eyes, and   
  
suddenly he becomes the storyteller.  
  
"You see, I'd made 'em mad quite a few times. He was really, really mad at me. And he told me that one day, he and his   
  
buddies would get me and my buddies. But we weren't scared! Nope, not until he caught us. See, we didn't think he knew   
  
where we were at, yet, and then..." Laguna paused, and Ellone gasped, mesmirized by the moment.  
  
"And then what?!" she asks breathlessly, caught up in his story. And I think to myself, I bet he's a really good   
  
storyteller. It's hard to tell, though, because the story he's telling is obviously intended for Ellone or any other young   
  
child her age...  
  
"Then he caught us! Me and my friends tripped and I got hurt!"  
  
"You must have fallen down on something hard to get that bad hurt!"  
  
His eyes seem to glaze over, like he's lost focus on the world he's in and is living in a memory instead of in today.  
  
"Yeah," he finally says, snapping out of whatever state he was in. "It kinda hurt. And then--I fell asleep. I was just   
  
so tired from runnin' from him that I just fell asleep. When I woke up, Miss Raine," he glances to me quickly to see if   
  
that's what I'd like to be called.  
  
"Just Raine."  
  
"Well, Raine was fixing me! She put band-aids all over my hands and gave me medicine, and then it was so late at night   
  
that I fell asleep again. And when I woke up the next time, I thought I was in a castle."  
  
"Huh? Why'd yoo think you were in a castle, Mr. Laguna?" A confused look crosses through Ellone's eyes, and I know the same   
  
look must slightly show on my face as well, being as to though there isn't a single building that halfway resembles a   
  
castle in the town of Winhill.  
  
"Well," he smiled, crossing his arms. "I saw this pretty little brown-haired girl and thought, 'Oh wow! She must be the   
  
princess!'"  
  
Ellone giggles, knowing he's talking about her.  
  
"And then another girl walks in, and I think 'Oh wow! She must be the queen!'"  
  
I roll my eyes and shake my head.  
  
"Flattery will get you no where with me, Laguna."  
  
He snaps his fingers.  
  
"So much for a free breakfast," he sighs. "I really owe you, Raine."  
  
"Don't worry about it," I say.   
  
"Well, whatever you say," and I can tell by the tone he says that in that I still haven't convinced him that he doesn't   
  
owe me. I can tell by the tone in his voice that he's determined to find a way to repay me.  
  
And I'll deal with that when the time comes.  
  
"Done!" Ellone announces.   
  
"Go put your plate in the sink," I tell her, thinking about my food that, naturally, is getting cold while I sit up here   
  
and visit. She jumps up and does so, and Laguna smiles as she leaves.  
  
"She's adorable," he shakes his head, and after a great struggle, manages to find a comfortable position to hold his fork   
  
in and finally starts eating. "This is so good!" he mumbles through a mouthful of pancakes.  
  
"Thank you," I reply, standing up to go downstairs. "...you're eating like you've never seen food or something," I can't   
  
help but point out.  
  
He blushes scarlet, and swallows the food in his mouth.  
  
"I haven't eaten in a while and this is really good."  
  
"You act like you haven't eaten in forever."  
  
"I haven't!" he whines. "I haven't eaten since, since--" he breaks off instantly, going pale. Only I think that it's not   
  
his lack of food that's bothering him now, but it's, again, something else...  
  
"What happened to you?" I ask quietly, hoping, in his sudden weak state, I'll be able to get a straight answer out of him.  
  
"Thanks for breakfast," he says, handing me the almost-empty plate and laying back down, a sudden wave of tiredness seeming   
  
to overwhelm him.  
  
"You didn't answer my question," I said softly.  
  
"Escaped," he sighs.  
  
~//~   
  
A/N: So, how was it? Okay-ish, maybe? Is the formatting okay? I still don't have MS Word =| so I dunno. What do you think? Let me know if it's okay, please, cuz I don't think it sounds very good =S...yeah...thanks again people!  
  
~Xifa~ 


	3. Chapter III

Chapter Three

            He started recovering, but it seemed to take forever.

"So, how am I doing?" he asked me one day as I brought him supper.

"I don't know," I replied, somewhat irritated.  Not as much at him as all the annoying customers that had stopped in, but none the less irritated.

"Sorry," he mumbles.

"It's not you," I sigh, a bit of guilt bothering me.  "I've just had one of those days."

"So have I," he says cheerfully.  He meets my eyes and laughs.  "Seriously, how am I doing?  When will I be up and walking?"

"From the looks of things you'd think you fell off a mountain," I frowned.  "You're recovering at about an average rate."

"Try a cliff," he muttered, eyes looking sort of upset for a moment before regaining their typical sparkle.  "I'm glad I'm recovering but I'm ready to get up and walk, at the very least now!"

"Laguna," I tried not to laugh, "I don't know what happened to you, but you obviously were hurt pretty bad and close to death.  It's only been a week or so--"

"A month," he interrupted me.  "It's been a month."

      I glanced at my calendar, and sure enough, it had been a month.  It'd been surprising how he'd managed to make my life go a lot quicker and easier.  He kept Ellone occupied while I worked, and I realized both of us had enjoyed his company.

"You want to try walking?  Without crutches, even?" I questioned carefully, staring at him.  Was he really up to this?

"Yeah!" He grinned, slowly standing up.  He winced, but didn't sit down quite yet.  He was having trouble masking the pain in his eyes, however.'

"Laguna, I don't think you're ready for this..."

"I think I am," he said in a determined voice through gritted teeth as he forced himself to take a step.  He winced, instantly sinking back down onto the bed.

"...Laguna?"

"I wasn't ready for that, you're right," he tried to force a laugh that sounded more like a choke or a strangled cry.

"Laguna..." I wasn't really sure what do to to help him as he reached for the bottle of aspirin.  

"I'm all right," he forced a grin.  

"I'll...go check on Ellone," I said, starting to walk out.

"Good idea," Laguna nodded.

      I walked out and walked into Ellone's room.

"Hiya, Raine!" she ran over and hugged me.  "How was your day at work?"

"Pretty good," I answered my automatic result.  "How was your day?"

"Well earlier I went over and talked to Laguna and we colored pictures and he told me stories about a little boy who always got in trouble as a kid for doing things in school that I should never ever do," she grinned.  "Can I go talk to him again?"

"I don't think he feels good right now, Elle."

"Well, when's he gonna get better?  He's been sick for a long, long time!  I want him to get better so he can come play outside with me!" Ellone put her hands on her hips.

      I considered that, but only for a moment.  What _would_ happen when Laguna recovered?  I knew he was a Galbadian Soldier, but I had no idea where he would go after he recovered.  Nor did anyone have any idea how he got to Winhill.  He was quite an enigma.

"We'll see," I answered slowly, not wanting to make any promises.  "We'll see."

                                                ~//~

      We found, a week or two later, that crutches helped him out a lot.  Pretty soon he'd explored most of the upstairs rooms, and was even trying to figure out a way to challenge Ellone to races.  He'd stand at the top of the stairs quite often and talk to me.  Though at times he was a bit annoying, (I think all Galbadian soldiers are at one time or another), I did enjoy his company.  It'd been quite awhile since I'd had someone my age around to talk to whom of which I could actually deal with.  It was a nice change.

      Ellone and I sat downstairs, enjoying dinner.  I hadn't taken Laguna's up to him yet, because earlier I'd checked in on him and he'd been sleeping.  I figured I'd wait until Elle and I were done, and then I'd take it to him.

"We had races today across the hall," Elle was giggling.  "I won most of them!  He's pretty slow on crutches."

      Thud, thud, thud....

"Do you hear that, Elle?" I whispered, listening intently for the source of the sound.  What was that?

"Mm-hmm!" Elle whispered, looking around.

      Thud-thud, thud, thud...  After the third or fourth 'thud', I slowly stood up, wondering if I had any weapons laying around.

"Raine..." Elle whispered again, looking slightly afraid.

      Another thud, this one a bit louder and closer to us.  And then a yell that pierced through the silence like an arrow.

"I did it!  Hey, look!  I did it!"  he cried happily, rushing as fast as he could on crutches over to us.  "Look! I did it!"

"Yay!" Elle cheered, jumping up and throwing her arms around his knees.  "Yay, Uncle Laguna, you did it!"

      Uncle Laguna?  I looked over to Laguna with a look that obviously said 'did you tell her to do this?' on my face, but it was only returned with the same look.

"I almost fell down them," he grinned sheepishly.  "But I did it!"

"We're all happy for you.  And since you're down here, take a seat and you can just eat with the rest of us," I nodded, taking his plate off the counter and sitting it down in front of him.

"Y'know, I think maybe a week or so and I'll be completely recovered," Laguna beamed.  "Or at least enough so that I'll be able to get out of your hair and quit bothering you."

"You're not bothering me, Uncle Laguna!" Elle grinned.  "I think you're fun!"

"Gee, thanks," Laguna smiled, quickly eating.  He'd mastered using a fork, I noticed, but of course the awkward bandages were finally off his hands now too.

      A sudden knock at the door interrupted the momentary peaceful silence.

"What part of 'I'm closed now' can't these people understand?" I sighed, scooting my chair back to stand.

"I'll answer it, if you want me to!" Laguna jumped up, or at least it looked like a jump.  It probably would have been, had he not been on crutches.

      He somewhat reminded me of a hyper young child.

"Just be polite," I warned him with an exasperated sigh.

"Allright," Laguna nodded, opening the door.  A Galbadian Soldier stood there, but he didn't seem like most of the goofballs that hang around Winhill.  There was just something...official about him.

"Are you the unknown soldier that washed up here about a month or so ago?" the soldier asked.

"Um, yeah," Laguna absent-mindedly ran a hand through his hair.  "That's me."

      I stopped eating, focusing on overhearing their conversation.

"Would you be Loire, Laguna then?" 

"Um, yeah.  That's me," Laguna said again.  "...should I know you?"

      The soldier shook his head no.

"I'm a General, but I'm not quite in your division.  I was sent to check on your physical status."

      Laguna awkwardly saluted him.

"I'm recovering quite well, sir," he said officially, standing in attention the best he could.  I couldn't ever remember seeing him this serious.

"Well that's definitely good," the general nodded.

"Um, permission to ask a question, sir?"

"Permission granted."

"Am I about to be sent on a mission, sir?" Laguna asked meekly.

"Of course not," the general shook his head.  "We couldn't send someone in your condition out.  Well, we could, but we're not fighting anywhere where you're that desperately needed.  I was just checking to find your address so that the Army can send you your belongings."

"Oh!" Laguna's face brightened.  "That'd be great!  I'll probably be around here for a week or two, and then I'll probably rent a place in the vicinity.  Um, sir.  So that'd be great.  Sir."

"Allright.  Anything else?"

"Um...sir...seeking information on soldiers Kiros Seagill and Ward Zabak, if you would, sir..."

"The two that were on the mission with you?"

      Laguna nodded hopefully.

"No reports.  Anything else?"

"No, sir," Laguna sighed dejectedly.

"Allright.  Your items will be mailed shortly."

"Thank you, sir," Laguna saluted him again as he walked out the door before 'crutching' back over to the staircase.

"Don't you want the rest of your dinner, Laguna?" I asked.

"I'm not hungry," he shrugged.  "Thanks anyway, Raine."

      With that he 'thudded' upstairs.

"What's wrong with Uncle Laguna, Raine?" Elle looked up to me with worried eyes.

"I think he's worried about his friends, Elle," I answered.

"What's wrong with his friends?"

"I don't know," I sighed.  

"You should ask," Elle informed me.

      I smiled.

"Now should I?"

"Yes," Elle nodded.  

"OKay," I replied, walking upstairs and knocking on Laguna's door.

      For a moment there wasn't a reply, then a muffled 'come in'.  I opened the door to see Laguna sitting on the side of his bed with a pen and a piece of notebook paper filled with illegible scratches on it.

"Um..."  Now that I was here, I was lost for words.  Why doesn't that somewhat figure?  "What's that?"

"Paper," he said.  "I just gotta get my thoughts in words sometimes...this is the easiest way."

      From the looks of the paper he'd carried it with him everywhere he went.  Upon closer inspection I noticed that the tiny scribbles were actually neatly printed sentences.  They were just so small and there were just so many that I had trouble telling they were words.

"You like writing?"'

"I wanna be a journalist," Laguna looked out the window to the stars, a slight glimmer of hope in his eyes.  "I wanna drop out of the army, Raine...I can't take much more..."  he sighed.  

"Laguna?"

"...We were gonna die either way.  Did I make a wrong choice?"  he seemed to be talking more to himself than to anyone else.  I looked into his unfocused eyes, grey and confused.  A strange feeling came over me, but I tried to ignore it.  There was just something about his eyes...  "Is it my fault?"

"Laguna..."

"But there wasn't any news.  And no news is good news, right?"  he finally turned to me, his grey eyes locking into my brown ones, praying for hope.

"Right," I answered, even though I wasn't really sure what exactly he was getting at.

"Okay," he nodded.  He paused, staring at the ground for a moment, then looked back up at me.  "I'm sorry I've been such a bother. I know I've gotten on your nerves."

      And so he had.  There were times I regretted being the person they brought Laguna to.  There were times I wanted to scream and pull my hair out and throw temper tantrums like Elle sometimes did.  But I never did.  Apparently he could sense my frustration.

"And I've probably been a waste of your money and all that--"

"--Laguna--"

"--So I'm sorry.  I...I dunno what to say anymore," he sighed.  "I'm sorry."

      I wasn't sure what to say to make him feel better, but I decided that maybe he needed some alone time for awhile.  I quietly shut the door behind him to see that Ellone had been standing out there the entire time.

"Raine?"

"Shh," I whispered.  "Let's just go to bed."

                                                ~//~

A/N: Is it allrighty so far?  Sorry it took me so long to get chapter three up!  I actually wrote chapters one and two maybe in January so it was strange coming back to this story after so long!  Well, if anyone likes it I'll keep going.  Also I wasn't exactly sure on Kiros and Ward's last name…I seem to remember hearing that somewhere…if it's wrong, well, correct me and I promise I'll never do it again!  Thanks to everyone who's reviewed it and to Sefie Lynne because I've decided I'm just going to steal a lot of ideas from our purple notebook.  And when that point comes, I'll credit you more.  So…um…yeah…g'night, everyone…hope you liked it!  ~*Xifa*~


	4. Chapter IV

Chapter Four

            Months passed, time continued.  Despite the fact that my life had remained unchanged for so long, I now found myself facing more changes than ever.  Laguna's rapid recovery was starting to actually pose a problem, and yet was a blessing in some ways.  He'd decided to rent the house next door, which had it's pros and cons.  One good thing was I was glad he was moving out, but was still close.  Fond as I was of him, it's absence that makes the heart grow fonder, not being with someone 24/7.  However, this was also proving to be difficult, since Elle really didn't want him to go.  ...and, I'll admit it, I really didn't want him to leave either.  I'd grown used to his prescience...and just having him, even when he was wounded, in the house made me feel a little safer.  I wasn't sure why.  I just hoped he'd stick around a lot...he'd been useful to have around when some of the rowdier people from town came in.  

            The other problem with his healing was that he would have to find a job.  Pretty much all of Winhill already looked down on him, and his only chance at redemption was by getting a job and making a living like the rest of Winhill's hard-working citizens.  I'd been worried about Laguna's reaction if he ever found out what the townsfolk thought of him...but it wasn't as bad as I'd anticipated.  In fact, he didn't seem to care much at all. 

            He held a small bag with his few possessions in it, smiling at me through the doorway.

"I'm leaving, Raine."

"I know, Laguna."

"I'm going so far away..."

"It's just next door, Laguna."

"Nobody to keep you company through the long, cold nights..."

"All you do is talk in your sleep, anyways."

            He blinked a few times, then grinned, handing me a small wad of gil.

"This should pay for...what...two months?"

            I smiled, feeling relieved.  Two more months I wouldn't have to worry about him leaving my life permanently for.

"Yes, that's fine.  Laguna, you don't--"

"I've gotta pay you, Raine," he shook his head.  "You can't play favorites with me just because I stayed the night for so long!"

            I glared at him and he laughed.

"I'm just kidding, Raine.  Please don't kill me with that look."

            I tried not to smile, honestly I did...but there was just something about his eyes...I found my frown melting into a frown.  Drat.

"Uncle Laguna, you're not leaving forever, right?" Elle cried, running over to him.

            He caught her in a hug and picked her up, grinning at her.

"Nope, I'm just moving next door!  You can come visit any time Raine says you can, okay?  Will you come visit me?"

"Yeah!"

"Promise?" he grinned.

"Promise," she smiled, hugging him.  "Can we come visit you tonight?"

"Yeah, that sounds good," Laguna nodded.  "Check with Raine."

"Can we, puh-leaze?"

"Elle, use--"

"Puh-leaze?" Laguna echoed her.

"--proper grammar," I sighed.  It was hopeless with those two.  "Sure, Laguna.  We'll be over later.  What time?"

"Ah, just...drop in.  I won't care," he grinned at Elle and shot me a different smile...one I couldn't exactly understand...  "Bye, Elle, Raine," he waved and walked out.

            So ended my days of living with Laguna.  I sighed and went back to work.

"Are you sad that he's leaving, Raine?"

"Sort of," I admitted.

"Raine, do you like Uncle Laguna?"

"Of course, don't you?"

"No," she giggled.  "I like Uncle Laguna, but do you _like_ him?" she stared up at me, trying not to laugh.

            Suddenly I understood exactly what the young girl meant, and wondered how obvious it was, if even she had caught on.  I turned the radio on.

"Oh, listen, Elle!  It's 'Eyes on Me'," I smiled.  I was rather fond of the song myself.  "Isn't this a pretty song?"

"Yeah, but what about Uncle Laguna?"

"What about him?" I shrugged. "He lives next door."

"Is he ever gonna move back upstairs?" Elle asked.

"No.  He had to move out."

"How come?  I liked having him here!"

"Well...he's a boy," I answered uncertainly.  If anyone is out there...please don't make me go through this...

"So?  He was a boy when he was living with us!"

"Well, he can't live with us for very long because he's a boy."

"How come?"

"Well, then we'd have to get married," I explained.  "Because you can't live with a boy until you get married," I said, hoping she'd just take my word for it and not question this any further.  "Laguna was hurt, though, so he was different.  But now that he's better he has to leave."

"So if you and Uncle Laguna get married, then can he move back in?"

"Yes, Elle, but--"

"Yoo two should get married!"

"Proper English, Elle.  Laguna and I aren't getting married," I protested quickly.  "I mean, we've never even went on a date."

"Then you should!  He wants to ask you, he's just scared you'll say no," Elle crossed her arms and pouted.

"What makes you say that?"

"He told me.  But it's a secret!  Don't tell him!"

            I was silent as I digested this new piece of information.  Did...did I really have a chance with Laguna?

"Would you say no?" Elle asked me.

"I don't know, Elle," I replied, irritably.  Why had I even thought of this?  Myself and one of those goofy Galbadian Soldiers?  Laguna Loire, by no doubt?  Never.  The idea was simply absurd. 

"Sorry, Raine...just asking..." Elle sighed.

"I'm sorry for getting mad.  I'm just...I don't know...I guess I'm tired..." I sighed, and did feel tired.  Tired of worrying all the time about whether the Estharian soldiers that killed Elle's parents would return for her, tired of Adel's constant threat, tired of thinking about Laguna all the time, tired of worrying if Laguna would leave...

"You should take a nap," she said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Maybe we should," I laughed.  "I think we could both use one."

"I'll go get a blanket!" Elle giggled, running upstairs.

            I found myself staring out the kitchen window at Laguna's house.  His window was open, and occasionally I'd see him pass by it.  I couldn't explain the amusement I found in just watching him, although the way my heart was racing told me it couldn't be very good.  At one point, he stopped at the window, and pulled the curtains up all the way.  He leaned out it, smiling, then saw me.  I blushed as he waved happily.

            Why was I feeling this way?

a/n: I don't find much of a reason to update this, except for I don't want to work on anything new until I finish these.  So I'd best get working.

however, that was inspiring...so I'll work on this one, guys, for real this time!  - 

Love and peace,

Xifa

don't own FF8…go squenix/squaresoft…


	5. Chapter V

Chapter Five

            We dropped in to visit Laguna later that night, before the sun set.  I wasn't too smitten with the idea of walking alone with just Elle after dark, even with all the Galbadian soldiers around.

"Raine!  Elle!  You actually came!" Laguna grinned, opening the door before I even had a chance to knock.  "Come in!"

            I walked in and was slightly disturbed by the sight.  I hadn't realized this place was so messy...

"Laguna, did you mess it up this bad?"

"Raine, I swear on the soul of any person I've ever met that it was already mostly like this," he held up his hands, an innocent look on his face.

"...I'll give you a discount on your rent if you clean the place up."

"I'll get around to it," Laguna made a face, and Elle laughed.  I sighed.  What had I been thinking earlier, anyways?  "So, whaddya think?!  Isn't this great?!"

"It's great!" Elle beamed.

"It's a wreck," I sighed.

"Oh, c'mon, Raine…sometimes things might be a wreck on the outside, but it's on the inside that counts, right?"

            I wondered if he was trying to tell me something, judging by his white t-shirt that was slightly pink from washing it in with darker colors and mismatched socks.  I settled for just staring at him.  I didn't mind it all that much, and it typically made him mad, something I enjoyed doing.  Mainly because he didn't really get mad…sure, it annoyed him, but he over-exaggerated everything.  It always ended up proving to be interesting.

"Raine!" he squawks after a moment, and I have to smile.  He's rather funny.  "Okay, how about I take you all on a tour of the house?"

            I already know my way through it.  I was friends with Elle's parents before they died, and this had been their house.  I wondered if Elle remembered it.  I kind of give Laguna a 'look'.  If this is going to bring back bad memories for her, I don't want to go through with it.

"Yeah!  That sounds like fun!"  Elle giggled.

"Well," he sighed, "I just remembered…I can't."

"Aw, how come, Uncle Laguna?" she pouted.

"It's _so_ messy up there, that if we went up there…I'd lose you!" he exclaimed, messing up her hair.  She laughed and pushed him away.  He fell backward and into the couch, scooting it a few inches.  Elle looked surprised and ran to his side.

"Uncle Laguna?" she whispered.  "Are yoo okay?"

"Oohhh…" he groans, closing his eyes, then jumping up and grabbing her.  She squeals with glee, and I wish I had enough energy to keep up with her like that sometimes.  Laguna tucks her under his arm and I'm a little nervous.  He's holding her the same way he holds a sack of potatoes, or charcoal, or whatever it is he's carelessly carrying to the restaurant when I had him running errands for me.  "You up for hot chocolate, Elle?"

"It's too close to bed," I say out of instinct. 

"Oh, c'mon, Raine!  Just a little cup?  Just an ittle-bitty-teensy-weensy—"

"—Okay!  Fine, but just a little cup," I concede defeat, and Laguna grins.

"Thank you!" he and Elle run into the kitchen.

            The armloads of stuff Laguna brought from my house to here are laying in the floor.  I sigh and sit down on the old couch, folding his stuff.  It's all wrinkled.  He's going to look like he slept in his clothes when he wears them, I think to myself.  I come across a few other things—a picture with him and his friends, all his military information, random job applications…and, oddly, things that look like drafts of newspaper articles.  There's everything he's written, but he's got boxes where pictures should go.  I remember him saying something once about wanting to be a journalist, but I didn't realize how serious he is.  I wonder if he'll quit the army…he said he wanted to do that too.  But if he quits that…there's a 90% chance he'll end up in Timber.  That's the best place to be for journalism right now.  I lay those papers to another side, face down so that he doesn't think I've been intruding.  It's after I've folded his jacket that I find the small black notebook.

            It's so inconspicuous that it's almost suspicious.  I flip it open, looking at the first day.  It's dated for August 19th, about twelve years ago.  Laguna would have been 10 if he's 22 like he says, but since he says he's going into his freshman year of high school in the paper, I have a feeling he's been lying about his age.  The freshman year entries aren't very interesting.  Neither are most of the high school ones…they're mainly thoughts.  Most of them are actually very deep, for a high school boy, heck, for Laguna…I flip further and find more recent ones.  These tell stories of his time in the army, his friends Kiros Seagill and Ward Zabak, a girl from a bar he's rather attracted to…I feel my heart fall, though I can't explain it.  Even more recent entries—these must take place sometime after Laguna's 'escape', because he mentions Elle's name in a lot of them.  At the top of one entry from about a month ago, it says in messy letters, 'I hope Julia's doing okay, but I really don't think I miss her that much anymore…'  Underneath he tells about his and Elle's latest adventure.  I smile at how much he loves that kid.  It's almost sweet.

            I finally, _finally _see my name mentioned in an entry that's practically a novel.  I'm interested, but I hear footsteps.  I close it and toss it on top of his jacket, lean back on the couch and close my eyes.  About two seconds later, Laguna's shaking me going,

"Wake up, Raine!  Me and Elle made hot chocolate!"

            …phew…didn't get caught. That's a relief.  I'm almost certain that Laguna wouldn't have wanted me reading that.  I feel guilty for him seeing me as innocent right now when he doesn't know what I've done.  I wonder if I should tell on myself, then decide not to.  I can always admit it later, if it bothers me that much.

            Elle hops on the couch next to me, and Laguna sits in the floor.  Elle finishes the tiny cup of hot chocolate, but doesn't beg for more.  Apparently Laguna has given her a speech.  Instead, she runs over to him and asks for a marshmallow out of his cup.  Naturally, he gives her one.

"Thank you!" she giggles.  "Guess what Raine taught me yesterday!"

"Oh, I'll never guess.  Tell me!  Tell me!  Oh, c'mon, Elle, y'gotta tell me!" his eyes grow wide and he gets excited. 

"She taught me how to braid hair!  Can I braid your hair?!"

"Sure!  Make it look good, okay?" he grins to her, and I can't believe he's agreed to this.

"Okay!" she giggles, and starts braiding his hair into two pigtails like she does to mine when I have the time to let her.  I watch this scene with quite a lot of amusement.  About ten minutes later, Elle's tied off the pigtails with the pink bows that were in her own hair.  Laguna grins and runs a hand over the braids fondly.

"Am I beautiful?"

"Uncle Laguna!" Elle giggles.

"Raine, am I beautiful?"

"…Laguna…" I sigh.  He's hopeless.  I wonder how he made it into the army anyways.  "Elle, it's way past your bedtime.  We need to go."

"Aw, do we _have_ to?" she whines.

"You've gotta do what Raine says, okay?" Laguna stretches and stands up.  "I'll walk you two over there, just incase the cacherpillers get out of hand."

"Buchubuchus!" Elle giggles, and Laguna gives me a questioning look.

"She can't pronounce them, so they're Buchubuchus and Bunbuns."

"Buchubuchus and Bunbuns!" Elle echoes happily.

"Well, I shall protect you from the fierce Buchubuchus and Bunbuns!" Laguna says valiantly, and takes Elle's hand.  He looks to me with a cheesy grin and takes mine too.  I jerk it away, but he grabs it again. "C'mon, Raine, we don't want to get separated!"

            I scowl, even though really it doesn't bother me that much.  I don't want him to know that, though.  He walks us back across the street. 

"Good night, Uncle Laguna!" Elle giggles and runs inside.  Laguna smiles after her fondly.

"She's such a sweet kid.  Reminds me of my little sister."

"I didn't know you have a little sister," I say conversationally, and he kind of looks away.  We drop the subject, and I feel guilty again.

"It's been a pleasure being in your company," Laguna grins.

            ...I'm speechless.  And that's not necessarily a good thing.

"I learned something interesting today.  Your restaurant is the only one in town."

"I put everyone else out of business," I smiled vaguely.  That's what one of my friends used to tell me, back before they moved.  It was our big joke or whatever.  Laguna finds this funny and laughs.  I'm glad someone thinks it funny.

"I can understand that!  However, if I ever wanted to ask you out, I couldn't ask you to your own restaurant, because then you'd have to cook, and I mean, how crappy would that be?"

            He looks at me as if waiting for me to slap him or something.  Upon seeing that my reaction to his statement is not negative, he smiles and continues.

"So I was wondering if you'd be interested in dinner at the restaurant of the master Chef de Laguna," he looks to me, trying to refrain from looking too hopeful.  I can tell.  "That way you wouldn't have to cook!" 

            I do love Winhill, but it's pretty bad when someone has to ask you out to a make-believe restaurant because the only place in town is run by you.  I have to smile at his efforts, though.  It must be hard, being such a city slicker and then coming to a place like Winhill.

"Sure, Laguna.  Sounds like fun," I smile.

"Alright, then, I'll see you Friday?"

"Friday works."

"Thanks, Raine.  See ya then!" he grins, waves, and walks back to his house.

            I walk in, smiling.  Elle giggles and runs over to me.

"So?  So?  What did you say?"

"…what are you talking about?"

"What did you say?" she asks me, putting emphasis on each word to get her point across. 

"What, are you two partners in crime now or something?  Did he tell you he was gonna do that?"

"Well did you say yes or no!" she cries impatiently.  I have to laugh.

"Yes, Elle.  I said yes."

"YESSSS!" she giggles.  "Good night, Raine!" she cries happily and runs up to bed.  I follow her, still smiling.  My ex-housemate and adopted daughter have teamed up against me.  This could prove to be interesting.

A/n: Sometimes it's hard to find the motivation to write on this.  I feel like it's just like every other Raine/Laguna story out there, but at the same time, we're not given much to work with on this pairing, since Raine only appears three times in the game (Once during the scene with Laguna, once on the broken vase sidequest, and then in the cutscene at the end.) and is with Laguna in only two of them.  Basically we're given two scenes to figure out her character (since she doesn't really do anything in the sidequest sighting of her) and how she interacts with Laguna.  We find out a lot about her in the one scene on the beginning of disc 2, but at the same time, I believe all characters have multiple sides…and we only see one side there.  So, despite it all, was that chapter okay?

…check my bio for the next update date!

Love and peace,

Xifa

Thanks to all the reviewers who've reviewed this chapter…I was so excited when I opened up my inbox to find reviews!  It's been a long time -  It's been a long time since I've updated, though, too…too preoccupied with Sefie's Rurouni Kenshin manga, and then I think I need to replay through FF8 since I don't remember anything about it… .   Really bad when you're writing fanfics.  Anyways…special thanks to…

Seth8 – I didn't figure anyone would even read this story after so long…

Karla3 – I found your reviews really inspiring!  Thanks!  (They were so inspiring, in fact, that I went and read your Matrix/FF8 fanfic and laughed my arse off for however long I spent reading it…and then I remembered you wrote Chance or Choice and decided to go read it too…but…last time I checked it there were only three chapters…now there's like, 13!  But I'm gonna get around to reading that asap, since I loved the first three chapters so much - )

Sefie -- …you pester me a lot to work on all the stuff that I'm too lazy to work on…like 'Searching for a Way'.  Guess what!  I lost chapter two XD  So now there's no more writing it, since I cannot remember how it goes, and it is a vital chappy since Aerith finds Sora.  No more of it!  Muahaha.

Thanks again!

Oh…yeah…I think I misspelled Buchubuchu and cacherpiller.  Whatever -


	6. Chapter VI

a/n: Xifa doesn't own FF8! Squenix formerly Squaresoft does! Go them! And go Nobou Uematsu, who's like the ULTIMATE in video game music composition! Go him! I wanna go see him in concert…sighs

Chapter Six

_It's been exactly six months since I had my first encounter with Laguna Loire. He's been recovered for quite awhile now, and has been living alone. He's been searching for job applications like an addict searches for their object of addiction, which makes Elle and me a little nervous. One winter day he came in just to tell me that he'd gotten a job as protector of the town or something strange like that. He's on monster extermination duty, and has proclaimed Elle and me as General and Assistant General or something like that. He takes his job so seriously that it almost looks like he's not serious at all. He's a hard character to figure out, but I'm thinking that I'm getting closer._

_ As for how he got here, I still have yet to figure that out, but I think I'm getting closer to learning. There are still a lot of mysteries surrounding Laguna though, more than just how he arrived at my doorstep almost dead. Like, how old is he really? How long does he plan on sticking around? What is so funny that he and Elle laugh at me every time they're alone and then see me, and why do I feel so strange around him?_

_ …I really think I'm getting close to solving these mysteries, though. I've got a good feeling about it, one I haven't had in a long, long time… _

I finished up the dishes warily, staring out my window. Freezing rain drizzled down on the road, and the restaurant was closed since my stove wasn't working and I wasn't sure how to fix it. Elle was at a friend's house, and I was personally bored to tears. The sun was just beginning to set, and I sighed. It'd only get colder after it did. My heater wasn't working very well either, so I was glad that Elle had stayed the night at her friend's. If it still wasn't fixed by the time she got back, I'd probably let Laguna watch her. He jumps at a chance to babysit her anyways, and I didn't want her catching a cold.

I folded the wet dishrag over the sink to dry and realized that I couldn't accomplish anything without a stove, and maybe if Laguna could fix it, he could fix a heater as well. I glanced at my clock. I'd waited a little late, granted. It was almost 8 o'clock. I knew Laguna was still up, but I did feel kind of guilty about just walking over and begging him to fix my heater. I reminded myself of all the good things I'd done for him over the past six months and told myself he wouldn't mind. He never does.

I grab my coat and pull my gloves on even though I'm just walking across the street. They're not very warm, but I'm freezing cold despite the fact I'm wearing three shirts and my warmest pair of pajama pants. I hate winter. I hate it even more when my piece of crap heater goes out. I make my way over to Laguna's, knocking on the door. My gloved hands make soft thuds on it, and I don't get a reply, so I just let myself in. I don't feel bad about this at all—Laguna's completely oblivious to the outside world sometimes. I walk in and walk into the living room, where he was reading a newspaper before apparently falling asleep while doing so. I sigh and he opens one eye.

"Ah, just you. I figured it was that crazy soldier guy again," he grins, sitting up and stretching. "Figured if I was asleep the guy would leave me alone."

"Laguna, I need your help," I say simply, cold and ready to get to the point.

"What's wrong?" he goes from joking to serious in less time than it takes to blink.

"My heater's broken, and so is my stove. Are you good at fixing stuff?"

"Wish I could say I was…" he trailed off, and cold and tired as I was, I felt like just punching a wall or something right there. "I'll look at it."

So we walk back across the yard to my house and Laguna takes a look at my stove. I don't bother taking off my coat or my gloves—I'm freezing and don't care what people say. I don't feel good, either. I'm tired and frozen from the inside out. Laguna kneels beside the stove, pulling it away from the wall. He blinks, staring at it, and I sigh. This is pointless. He does something, and suddenly the lights on the stove come on again.

"I thought you said you weren't good at fixing things!" I exclaim. Well, one thing down, another to go. "What was wrong with it?"

"It was unplugged," he says quietly, looking at me worriedly.

I blink, staring at him as if he's speaking a foreign language.

"Unplugged?" I echoed.

"Raine, you don't look so good," Laguna takes a few steps over towards me. I just lean against the wall, unable to explain why I feel like crying all of a sudden. I take a deep breath and try to calm down, but my eyes are burning and I hope Laguna just leaves. Unplugged. I'm such an idiot. "Do you feel okay?"

"I'm okay," I say hoarsely. He shakes his head and takes a step closer to me, brushing his fingertips across my face. I shiver, even though I didn't think it was possible for me to get any colder than I already am. Maybe this isn't because of the cold.

"Raine, you're burning up. Why are you wearing that huge coat and stuff?"

I don't know. Right now I don't feel like I know much of anything.

"Raine, you're sick. You need to go to bed."

"Okay," I say, not feeling like arguing with him. Sleeping is about all I feel like. I walk towards the stairs.

"Raine, it's like an igloo in here. Trabia's warmer than this."

"So?" I glare back at him. "It's not like either of us know how to fix the stupid heater, do we?"

I feel guilty about snapping at him. He walks over to me, taking my hands in his.

"You can't stay here. You'll just get sicker."

"Well, where do you suggest I go? Winhill's beautiful overlooking-the-ocean resort?" I laughed hollowly.

"Yeah. That sounds like a nice place," Laguna nods, and before I even see what's coming, he's picked me up and is carrying me across the street. I don't fight back. I'm freezing cold and I just want to feel okay again. I can't get anything done when I'm sick. He carries me up the stairs in his warm house and sits me down on his bed.

"What about you?" I ask vaguely, the words not really seeming to make a lot of sense.

"I'm couchin' tonight," he smiles sadly. "Um, if you need to change or anything, go ahead. I'll be right back."

He walks out, and I take off my shoes, coat, and gloves. I sit perched on the edge of his bed, trying to think straight. There's a couple of knocks and Laguna peeks through the door.

"Can I come in?"

"Yes," I nod, and he walks in with a glass of water and two pills.

"Tylenol," he explains, handing them to me. I take them gratefully. "Don't worry about anything, since I know that's what you'll do. Just lie down and go to sleep, okay, Raine? You deserve a break."

I stretch out across his bed. It's not very comfortable, but it is warm, and the blankets smell nice, like a mixture between laundry detergent and the cologne that Laguna sometimes wears when he thinks about it. He covers me up and hits the light switch, turning to walk out. I grab his hand and yank him back over to me.

"Laguna, how did you get here?" I ask him seriously.

"I told you, I es—"

"I want to know."

He closes his eyes, and then kneels by my bed. I can barely see him from a light that's on in the hallway.

"You've heard of the Lunatic Pandora, right? The big box they built around the Crystal Pillar? Well, my friends Kiros and Ward and I were out on a job. I can't even remember what we were supposed to be doing. But anyways, we end up lost, and it's 'cause I brought the wrong map. We end up in this crystal place…the Crystal Pillar. It's an interesting place, and we're fascinated at what all we find…but…but…then it happens. We get caught. We're backed up against the edge of a cliff, Esthar soldiers threatening to kill us, the cliff behind us threatening to accept our deaths. We're…taught to die valiantly in the army," he said vaguely, sad eyes staring past me at something else, as if he could see the entire scene replaying someplace just outside the window. "I didn't want to lose our lives to the enemy. I just wanted a chance…so I shoved Kiros and Ward over the edge…and jumped myself."

"Laguna…"

"Is there anything else you want to know?" he asked me, an almost painful tone in his voice.

"No," I whispered, and he nodded, standing up.

"Good night, Raine," he said, walking out my door. The light in the hallway disappears and all fades to darkness.

-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-

a/n: This chapter was to bring out the realness of Raine. I think every character needs to have a real side…and real people make stupid mistakes . At least they do where I come from. So tell me…did Raine seem real in that chapter? sighs I'm listening to 'Hallelujah' by Rufus Wainwright right now. It's a beautiful song, guys, go download it -

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Except…no, wait, I don't own that either.

Xifa


End file.
